Carrier rod driving mechanism



June 7, 1938. A. F. VERBEEK CARRIER ROD DRIVING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 6. 1936 INVENTOR. Arnold Rica rich Verbeeh ATTSQEY.

Ju'ne 7, 1938. A. F. VERBEEK CARRIER ROD DRIVING MECHANISM Filed July-6, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. flrnold Friedrich Verbee/i Patented June 7, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CARRIER ROD- DRIVING MECHANISM Arnold Friedrich Verbeek, Oberlungwitz, Germany, assignor to Kalio, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 6, 1936, Serial No. 89,014

. 9 Claims.

As is well known, the rings or stripes which frequently mar the appearance of sheer silk hosiery 15 are caused primarily by lack of uniformity in the thread which, in spite of the greatest care in manufacture, varies in diameter in different parts and also because it has been the practice to knit such hosiery from a single thread. This brings 2 such inequalities into adjacent courses, thereby accentuating them and producing the objectionable variations in thickness of the fabric commonly known as-rings. The difficulty has been largely overcome by employing instead of one n thread say three separate threads utilized in rotation in successive courses so that. the same thread appears only in every third course.

While this method of knitting has substantially eliminated the objectionable rings it has intro- 30 duced a serious defect at the extreme edge of the fabric. In fact, it is impossible to obtain a good edge for the reason that between the end of one course knit with a thread and the beginning of the next course knit with the same thread there is a loose or floating length of the thread lying across the ends of the two intervening courses. Since this is true of each of the threads, the fabric over its entire length is bordered by three such floating threads. These are sometimes caught 40 by chance into the intervening courses, but usually hang loosely along the edges of the fabric where they may easily be cut or become entangled with the needles causing breakage and damaging the fabric. They also make neat seaming ex- 40 tremely difllcult.

By the invention of this application although three carriers are used to lay three separate threads in successive courses a ringless fabric is produced in which there are no floating threads.

5 To the contrary, each of the three threads is knit into each course, one forming the main full width course and the other two being knit into the respective selvages of the same course.

. The invention, in addition to providing. simple 55 and eflicient means for imparting to the carrier rods the motion required for laying the threads in this manner, also insures that the carrier rods involved are positively positioned against their limiting stops at the end of each stroke and that they are not dragged out of position through interference betweenthe different carriers. This is accomplished without utilizing the latches which have been considered'necessary to hold the carrier rods against their end stops. Also the burden upon the friction rod is greatly reduced so that less power is required and smoother operation secured. 1

In addition, the invention permits of the knitting of a triple heel or heel within a heel by means of five carriers instead of the usual minimum of seven, thus freeing two carriers for other uses. In spite of the continual demand for more and more carriers manufacturers of flat knitting machines have been unable to equip their machines with more than eight and, generally, with not morethan seven. This invention which, in eflect, increases the number of carriers by two,

is of great practical importance, particularly since it can be applied without difliculty to old machines having a more limited number of carriers. 5

A further feature of the invention is that providing multiple means for driving each rod over full width courses to insure against failure of the driving means to effectively engage with its carrier rod.

One form of the invention and a modification 3 of' a part thereof are shown in the drawings, of which Figure 1 is a plan view of a part of a flatknitting machine equipped with this invention;

Fig. -2 is an end elevation of a part of the carrier rod driving mechanism shown in Fig. 1

'viewed from the line 22 of Fig. 1 in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of another part of the carrier rod controlling mechanism viewed from the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 in the direction indi; cated by the arrows;

Figs. 4 and 5 are diagrammatic views of the position of the carrier rods and driving connec-' tions at different stages of the knitting operations;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a modified form of one of the carrier rod driving mechanisms;

Fig-'7 is an end elevation in section showing one pair only of the leversshown in Fig. 6

Fig. 8 is a corresponding front elevation viewed from the line 8-8 of Fig. 7 in the direction indi cated by the arrows; and

"fashioned hosiery.

m. s n a similar and similarly viewed front Ingeneralthemachinemaybeastandardfiat knitting machine for the production of full Apartofsuchamachineis showndiagrammaticallyinl 'lg. 1. Onlythree carrier-rods l,2andlareshown. 'l'heremainder" .1tionrodl2isafrictionboxi3providedwiththe v 32 and cams 28, 21- and." will reciprocate as a usual friction devices. Upon friction box l2 are plvotally mounted fingers ll, lland I, therespective lengths of which are such that their ends overliecarrierrods l,2and3respectively. All threefingersaremountedonacomnmnshaft l1 in such a way that they may be individually rocked in a vertical plane.

These fingers also extend rearwardly from theirpivots as arms I, I! and 2| whichterminate substantiailybeneathcrosbarfl offrame22, which is also mounted uponor is an integral part of friction box It. 'lhe sides 22* of frame 22 are extended downwardly to form supports for a bearing 23 slidably surrounding a shaft 24 so that frame 22, although it can slide longitudinally, is rigidly braced against other movement insuringthatthevariouspartsofthedevicewillbe maintained in correct position with respect to the carrier rods. Each of the arms I8. I! and 2| isconnectedtocrossbarfl offrame22bymeans of a spring 25. Thus normally the fingers will be maintained in down position with their ends slightly above their respective rods. Rocking of. fingers ll, l and I is automatically eflected by cams 2', 21 and 28 respectively, mounted on a changing shaft 2! which is rotatably mounted in suitable bearings so that it overlies the rear end of arms II, I! and 20. Each of the cams 28, 21 and 2| is slidably mounted upon changing shaft 29, the hub of each being provided with one or more splines which engage with corresponding spline slots Si in changing shaft 29. Thus although cams 2t,. 2| 2.8 s da l PQB shown consists of two frictions "and II which chanting shaft 2! any rotationof shaft 29 will impart a corresponding rotation to the cams. Cams 2', 21 and 22 are mounted in proper position with respect to eachother and to the arms I, I. and 2| by any suitable means and engage with those arms through the medium of a roller 32 on each arm. Thus when friction box i3 is reciprocated by friction rod l2 not only the fingers M, I and It andarms II, II and but also rollers unit, the cams sliding along shaft 24 and maintaining their operative alignment with the arms. Each of cams 2|, 2'! and a is'so shaped and its working surface so distributed about the shaft that the finger which it controls will be maintained in its raised and lowered positions at appropriate times during the knitting operation by' suitable rotation of shaft 2!.

Shaft 22 may be rotated by any suitable mechanism which will impart proper timing to the cams. The mechanism shown in Fig. 1 for ro tating shaft 2l consists-of a cam." upon the main cam shaft 30 which operates a rock lever 31 through roller is. Lever l'l in turn rotates shaft 29 in a step by step manner through a pawl II and ratchet wheel ll. This form of drive is well known to those skilled in the art and can be designed by them to impart the required speed of a,na,o1a v rotation to shaft'2l to harmonize its action with the knitting cycle.

Thepurposeofflngers M, [Sand ifiistotranslate the reciprocation of friction rod i2 to carrier 'rods' I, 2 and 3 in accordance with the requirements of the knitting operation being performed.

To make this possible carrier rods i, 2 and 3 are provided with driving blocks ll, 2 and u respectively, so positioned on each rod as to be 'engageable with the corresponding finger N, is

or II at either end of each stroke and at any intermediate point. In one form of the device eachofthedrivingblockslLu andflisofthe form but shown in Fig. 8 and consists of. a metallic block attached to and projecting above the carrier rod andprovided with sloping surfaces 44 and I leading up to a centrally positioned rectangular depression 48 of suitable size to receive the end of a finger. a It will be apparent that whenever during the traverse of the friction rod one of the fingers it,

I! or I is engaged-in a corresponding recess 46 ofitsdriveblockthecarrierrodwlllalsobere-' ciprocated either to the right or left.

It will also be evident that whenever a finger in its "down" position approaches the drive block of its corresponding carrier rod it will ride up one or the other of the sloping surfaces 44 or 45, depending upon the direction of approach and will pick up the carrier rod by snapping into recess and that this connection will be maintained until the finger is raised'out of the recess by its cam.

, .As fully described in the Friedman patent referred to above, the outstanding characteristic of the ringless fabric which the selected form of this invention is primarily designed to produce is that whileeachcourse for the greater part of its width is composed of a different thread from that of the adjacent courses the two other threads also appear in the selvages of each course. The mechanism thus far described is employed to lay the diiferent threads in rotation over the full fabric width and also to lay one of the other threads outwardly across a selvage.

To lay the other thread inwardly across the Sa a a di i n me h n m i m y d ,Th

upon friction rod l2, they can move with the friction rod as long asthe carrier-rods are free to move, but each of them is also free to stop without aifecting the operation of the others whenever a connected carrier rod stops.

For example, assuming the carrier rods to be in the positions shown in Fig. l (rods l and 3 at the left against end stops 4, and rod 2 so that its thread carrier is over the inner edge of the right selva'ge); that the next stroke of the friction and carrier rods willbe from left to right and that carrier rod (I will lay the full width thread, then finger It will be engaged with drive block II on carrier rod i. When this friction rod stroke to the right occurs finger I will propel carrier rod I all the way acrossthe fabric until it strikes end stop 5. as shown in Fig. 4', whereupon the carrier rod I, finger ll and its friction l2 will stop, the friction rod l2 continuing to the end of its stroke in the usual way.

' stroke it can pick up carrier rod 2 by engaging drive block 42 and propel it outwardly across the right selvage. Meanwhile, frictions 41' and 48 have been moving to therightl with mtao'n rod l2 and since finger 49 of friction 41 engages drive block'53 on carrier rod 3 it will propel carrier rod 3 inwardly across the left selvage at the inner edge of which the carrier rod and, consequently, friction '41 also will. be stopped by a suitable stop.

The result of these operations is depicted in.

Fig. ,4. 1 Rods I and 2 have been traversed by the fingers l4 and I 5 of friction l3 and rod 3 by finger 43 of friction 4]. Friction 48 has not participated but has merely. moved toward the right with friction rod 12.

The following stroke is depicted in Fig. 5. Here carrier rod 2 has been driven to the left all the way across the fabric by finger l5 of friction l3 which has remained in engagement with drive block 42. Carrier rod 3 has been picked up by finger I5 at the inner edge of the left selvage and driven outwardly across that selvage, and carrier rod I has been driven inwardly across the right selvage by finger 50 of friction 48-through drive block 54.

In this way each rod is driven across the full width of the fabric, then inwardly across a selvage, then outwardly across the same. selvage, then across the full width again but in the opposite direction,'and so on in successive courses and simultaneously the other rods are driven in asimilar manner each one step behind the other. The three fingered friction l3 selects the full course rod and also the rod to be driven by one or the other of frictions 41 and 48. That is to say, the selective mechanism is mechanically associated with friction l3 only but operatively determines the functioning of the other two frictions also by taking control of two carrier rods during each stroke leaving only the third rods to be cared for by the other. 7

A means for limiting the inward traverse of the carrier rods working upon the selvages is, .of course, essential. Any suitable mechanism can be employed for this purpose. The essential requisite is that it shall be able to stop the traverse of any one of the carrier rods at any desired time without interfering with the traverse of the other carrier rods. A suitable automatic mechanism for this purpose is shown in Figs. 1

through carrier rod stops 61, 68 and 69 respectively. Stops 51, .58 and 59, 60, BI and 62 are moved into and out of engaging position by levers Ill operated by cams II on shaft 29 in a manner similar to that in which the driving fingers l4, l5 and I6 are operated by their cams on the same shaft. In Fig. 1 stop BI is down and has stopped carrier rod 2 at the inner edge of the right selvage through carrier rod stop 68. In Fig. 4 this stop has been lifted and stop 59 lowered so that the travel of carrier rod 3 has been terminated on the irmer edge of the left selvage through the engagement of carrier rod stop 65. In Fig. 5 stop I is down and has terminated the traverse of carrier rod] attheinner edge of, the right selvage h u hrrate l i c rrier r ho 6.1.

4 Q'Ihe, longitudin wms t nfl th ad abl stopswith vrespect to the; carrier rods is deter,- mined by the, threaded; spindle l2 upon which theyare mounted so that, through-rotation of the spindle by suitable means such as the pawl and ratchet mechanism shown, the width of the selvages can be varied at will and the contours of the inner edges of the selvages givenany desired configuration without regard to the character of the outer edges. I

.Another form of adjustable stop mechanism suitable for the purposes described is disclosed in Patent No. 2,030,697 granted to Albert Friedmann on February 11, 1936. However, as already stated, any suitable mechanism may be em-.

pl'oyed.

Of course, it is essential that the driving eni gagement of the. selective driving fingers l4, I5 and IS with their carrier rods should notfail at any time. When the ,rods are driven at high speed there is a possibility of such failure since the width of recess 45 of the drive dog is, at most, only slightly greater than the width of the finger so that spring 25 may not act quickly enough to lower the finger before its leadingedge has passed beyond the recess. To remove all possibility of this the modified form of selective" drlving fingers illustrated in Figs. 6 to'9, may be substituted for those hereinbefore described. As shown in Fig. 6 each of fingers l4, l5 and I5 has, in effect, been split longitudinally into two finvided with a cam roller and spring. The two cam rollers 32 and 32 of each pair of fingers are engageable with one of the cams 25, 2'! or 28 shown in Fig. 1 so that the two fingers of each pair can be lifted as a unit by the cam. How- 1 is illustrated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 in which it is assumed that fingers 16 and Ni have approached drive block 43 on carrier rod 3 from the right. In Fig. 8 finger l6 has already dropped into recess 46 and is about to be followed by its'com- I panion finger Hi after which they are positioned side by side as shown in Fig. 9. With this construction-not only is the width of each finger somewhat less than half the recess 45 so that it has plenty of time to drop into the recess but each finger of the'pair is approximately only half as heavy as a single finger so that it can .be made to drop faster. 1

The modified construction has the further merit that if the leading one of the fingers should manage to jump recess 46 it would be extremely unlikely that its companion finger would follow suit so that the carrier rod would still be operatively connected to the friction. Fig. 8 will'serve to illustrate this contingency also if it is assumed that the fingers are moving from left to right. Upon this assumption finger li has failed to enter recess 46 but finger I5 has functioned properly and will drive carrier rod 3 as soon as it has absorbed the space ordinarily occupied by the other finger. If this pair of fingers are to function upon the following stroke also, finger I6 will drop-into its proper place in recess 46 as soon as flnger l6 has made room for it by its initial movement across the recess.

Whilethe description herein has been confined to a mechanism for driving three carrier rods only in a specific manner it will be understood that the invention may be utilized for driving a greater number of rods by providing the required number of selective driving fingers and auxiliary apparatus and the required number of plain frictions for the rods not controlled by the selective friction. t, It will also-be realized that the modifledform of the selective driving unit alone can be utilized for driving a plurality of carrier rods in rotation A selecting and driving any two of said carrier" rods during any traverse of the friction rod and other friction means on said friction rod for driving another of said'carrier rods in the same direction during thesame traverse of the frictionrod.

2. In a flat knitting machine provided with a reciprocable'friction rod and carrier rods; carrier rod control mechanism comprising a friction device upon said friction rod engageable with any of the carrier rods to drive them in one direction only,.a second friction device upon said friction rod engageable with any of the carrier rods to drive them in the opposite direction only, and a third friction device upon said friction rod engageable with any of said carrier rods to drive them in either direction',said third device also constituting a. means for selecting the carrier rods to be driven by the first and'second devices.

3. In a fiat knitting machine provided with a reciprocable friction rod and carrier rods; carrier rod control mechanism comprising a friction device on said friction rod for driving one carrier rod across the full width of the fabric and for driving another carrier rod outwardly across the selvage during a traverse of the friction rod and another friction device also on said'friction rod for driving a third rod inwardly across the other selvage during the same traverse of the friction rod.

reciprocable friction rod and carrier rods; carrier rod control mechanism comprising a friction device on said friction rod provided with a plurality of carrier rod driving means each of which is engageable with a different carrier rod, means for engaging any one of said carrier rod driving means with its respective carrier rod to drive it across the full width of the fabric, means for across the other selvage a carrier rod not driven engagingany of said carrier rod driving means with its carrier rod to drive it outwardly across ri selvage and another friction device on said friction rod adapted to engage and drive'inwardly by said other driving means.

4. In a flat knitting machine provided with a 5. In a flat knitting machine provided with a reciprocable friction rod and carrier rods: carrier rod control mechanism comprising a friction device on-said friction rod provided with a plurality of carrier rod driving means each of which is engageable with a different carrier rod, means movable with said friction device for engaging any one of said-carrier rod driving means with its respective carrier rod to drive it across the" full width of the fabric, means for engaging any of said carrier rod driving means with its carrier rod to drive it outwardly across a selvage and another friction device on said friction ,rod adapted to engage and drive inwardly across the other selvage a carrier rod not driven by said other driving means.

6. In a flat knitting machine provided with a reciprocable friction rod and carrier rods; carrier-rod control mechanism comprising a friction device on said friction'rod provided with a plurality of carrier rod driving means each of which is engageable with a different carrier rod, means for engaging any one of said carrier rod driving means with its respective carrier rod to drive it across the full width of the fabric, means for engaging any of said carrier rod driving means with its carrier rod to drive it outwardly across a selvage and another friction device on said friction rod adapted to engage and drive inwardly across the other selvage a carrier rod not driven by said' other driving means.

7. In a flat knitting machine provided with, a reciprocable friction rod and carrier rods; carrier rod control mechanism comprising a friction reciprocable friction rod and carrier rods; carrier rod control mechanism comprising a friction device on said friction rod provided with a plurality of means for' engaging and driving each carrier rod in either direction, said plurality of means comprising a pair'of fingers automatically engageable individually or collectively with its carrier rod. e

9. In a fiat knitting machine provided with a reciprocable friction rod and carrier rods; carrier rod control mechanism comprising a friction device on said friction rod provided with a plurality of means for engaging and driving each carrier rod in either direction, said plurality of means comprising a pair of fingers automatically engageable individually or collectively with its carrier rod, and means for disengaging either one or both of said fingers from its carrier rod.

ARNOLD FRIEDRICH VERBEEK. 

